Lacklustre Week Ends On A Flat Note

From the movement of the indices this week, it is clear that the markets are seeking fresh triggers at this point of time. Both Nifty and Sensex ended the week in the green, but gained a mere 0.63% and 0.54% respectively.

This week also marked the expiry of the December F&O series. In the wee hours of trade yesterday, some volatility was seen. Other than that, the markets remained lacklustre and even the volumes are on the declining side. This week also marks the begining of the holiday and the festive season, and hence, no serious movement was expected.

Some important data came in on the global front. In the US, the jobless claims came in at 2923K, higher than 2827K forecasted. There is a marked improvement in the initial jobless claims data, which came in at 338K as against the 345K expected. The UK Personal Income also saw improvement, coming in at 0.2% as against -0.1% reported earlier.

As regards commodities, crude oil futures changed little during the early European trading hours on Friday, hovering near their 9-week highs ahead of supply data. Signs that the US economic recovery is strengthening continued to lend support. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light sweet crude futures for delivery in February 2014 traded at USD 99.61 a barrel during the European morning trade, up 0.05%.

Back home, FII inflows remained on the positive side, as Rs 6026 crore came into equities this week, taking the total figure for CY13 to Rs 111629 crore. DIIs too remained in the green, investing Rs 339 crore in equities.

Looking ahead, some more important data is expected from overseas. The US home sales and manufacturing PMI numbers will be watched closely. For the Indian markets, the next trigger will be the results season that starts from second week of January 2014. Till then, we expect the market to witness subdued trade with low volumes.

Here’s wishing all our readers a very happy and prosperous New Year!